The First Trial
by Casa Circe
Summary: "How can we allow a traitor and usurper lead this nation?" Zuko's succeeding to the throne is not without difficulties. One-shot.


The First Trial 

_DISCLAIMER: I've said it time and again, Avatar: the Last Airbender is no possession of mine. So this is merely my humble tribute to it._

_NOTE: Okay, so in response to the growing demand (based on the poll on my profile) for a Zutara piece, I decided to post this one as soon as I finished it._

_It's been a long while since my last Zutara story. I missed writing for this ship and the idea for this piece has been lingering in my mind for the past four months or so. But I have neither time nor ideas to develop this into a longer story so this is definitely just a one-shot._

_I just couldn't resist writing it nonetheless. The events might be unlikely in the Avatarverse but I was in a darkly political mood so the ideas just flowed._

_I have some plans for a short Zutara chapter story but since I still have no title for it, it will have to wait a while. As soon as I have a title, it will be posted. For now, I hope you appreciate this short piece._

_And you all get a bonus treat on this special date (01-11-11) because I will be posting two Zutara one-shots to make up for the long hiatus since my last Zutara story (which was all the way in August 1, 2010 (Zutara Week). Whoa. So expect another one after this._

_Set towards the end of the series in a world where Maiko never existed. This is also partially a response to the poll on my profile (since I have been updating some of my incomplete stories anyway.) Enjoy. _

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"How can we allow a traitor and usurper ascend to the throne?"

The great halls of the Fire Nation palace echoed with the booming voice of the magistrate as he practically shouted this question to the other ministers and to all others present during the trial. Whispers and mutterings quickly filled the gaping silence that had followed such a weighty declaration. Uneasy glances darted from the chief magistrate to the accused and back to the judge. Very few dared contradict the stern figure, and yet even fewer wanted to risk the wrath of the formerly banished prince.

For there he stood, in the midst of the council, like a mark with a whole army shooting at him. This time, instead of fire blasts or arrows, harsh words were the ammunition being sent his way. If he was in any way affected by these accusations, Zuko showed no sign of it.

On the contrary, the young firebender remained calm and composed throughout the whole trial, serenely listening to every criminal accusation and rebuke. His reactions greatly startled his opponents. They had not been prepared for the mature young man before them.

But Zuko's enemies were not the only ones surprised by his serene demeanor. The few friends he had remaining in court were impressed by how well he was taking everything. Mai and Ty Lee watched him in awe and felt no pity for him although they both wished that they were in a better position to defend him. He had not been given much chance to defend himself and he had not been allowed someone to stand up for him. He was alone.

There was another person in the audience who admired Zuko's composure. But just as Katara's esteem for Zuko was rising, so was her anger at the people who had set up this whole mockery of a trial. She was seething with indignation at the unjust treatment of Zuko.

"After all he had done for his country," she thought angrily, "after all he had sacrificed, and this is the thanks he gets!"

She clenched her fists and pursed her lips, taking deep breaths and struggling to maintain her own composure. The only thing preventing her from blurting out her indignation and interrupting the whole hearing was the promise Zuko had extracted from her before he entered the judgment hall.

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"A lot of what you will hear will make you angry, and justly," Zuko had told her, "but you have to promise me that you will not say a word in contradiction, that you will not interfere."

"But Zuko," she had protested but he had been obstinate.

"Please, Katara, you must promise me," he had urged, "if you get yourself involved, they will target you and start using you to discredit me, or even Aang. And we can't have that, can we?"

She had nodded reluctantly. He then gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry too much about it," he had told her, "I'm used to all this. It will be over before you know it. Don't forget that they're trying to assert a power they no longer have. At the end of the day, there's nothing much they can do."

"Fine, I'll go along with whatever you think is proper," she agreed reluctantly before saying, in a gentler tone, "but please be careful."

He had taken her hand and squeezed it affectionately.

"I promise."

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The waterbending master could now see that the social structures of the Fire Nation were far worse than even the sexist policies of the Northern Water Tribe. For all the faults of her sister tribe, they were still open to reforms and improvements. It was clear to her, however, that bringing about significant change in the Fire Nation would not be as simple as storming into the Fire Nation Palace and demanding it. Zuko knew this well, and he was determined to see it through, no matter what.

He always cared about his country, no matter how unfairly they treated him, Katara thought. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Zuko's responsibilities, in some ways, outweighed even Aang's. For though the Avatar was still in charge of maintaining peace and harmony among the Four Nations, he already had a large number of allies from each nation. And it helped that the airbender was generally liked wherever he went. Zuko, on the other hand, had to contend with a nation divided over their opinion of him. He needed to prove to the world that he would not allow a great war to ever happen again. But first, he needed to stand firm against all the criticisms of his own people.

Just like now.

Some of the remaining corrupt officials of the Fire Nation court were taking advantage of the Avatar's absence to stir up some trouble before the coronation of the new Fire Lord. They had been expecting the hot-tempered, easily goaded, reckless prince of years ago but instead they had before them a significantly changed and matured prince who had all the qualities of a just and effective leader. If he had been the Zuko of before, they would not have felt threatened, even after Ozai's defeat. They had believed him easier to manipulate, to bend to their wills.

But now, these detractors were fast seeing that they were up against an adversary they were absolutely no match for, in strength of mind and body. Not only was Zuko a more powerful bender, he was also a more formidable leader. And it helped that he had the Avatar on his side, as well as prominent members of the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom.

These vile magistrates were lucky that Aang was suddenly called on an errand to attend to in Ba Sing Se, along with Iroh and the rest of the Order of the White Lotus. Had the Avatar or the Dragon of the West been present, no one would question the decision. But as it happened, they weren't there, so Zuko was left at the mercy of his father's old friends, and once again the pain of public humiliation.

Foolish though Zuko's detractors may have been, they were still aware of some of his old and enduring weaknesses. They knew how deep his sense of honor and shame were. He could not deny his past actions. He would not attempt to deny them. He was not as crafty or as deceptive as his father and sister.

And they were convinced that should they push the right buttons, they could still gather support from others to contradict the Avatar's decision.

"You are a traitor to your country," the chief magistrate repeated, "you turned your back on this nation during the Day of Black Sun and conspired with the Avatar and his allies, enemies of the Fire Nation."

"As I've said before," Zuko replied calmly, having heard this countless times already, "I did that to save my country from further damage. All my life, I have always had my countrymen's best interests at heart, even if my father did not always recognize this. Can you not see that even the Fire Nation would suffer if the war continued?"

"This does not justify your betrayal!" another minister cried out.

There were more arguments and rebuttals raised but as soon as the din died down, the ministers looked contemptuously at Zuko, waiting for his other answers. Katara continued to watch him anxiously. She kept praying for this whole farce to end, or for Aang or the other to suddenly barge in and sort out the whole mess.

She now regretted her vow of silence, but she wasn't about to go back on her word. She noticed that whenever she felt compelled to speak, and almost unable to restrain herself, Zuko would throw her a brief, subtle warning glance and she would immediately suppress any urge to shout. Katara always wondered at this, at his ability to read her so well so as to anticipate those moments of great tension.

Katara realized just how different the circumstances were at that moment from how things had been only months before. She and Zuko had been on opposite sides, not knowing how much they actually had in common.

Then, with a gasp, Katara realized just how familiar the whole thing was to her. The setting was certainly different but the negative energies were the same. And once again, Zuko was the victim of unreasonable hate and resentment. To her horror, Katara began to see a reflection of herself in the odious figures of the magistrates who were currently interrogating and harassing him. She shuddered but could not turn away. The resemblance was there, even if who she had been was the darkest shadow of herself, the cold, unforgiving girl who she never wanted to be again.

But more than anything, she felt for Zuko. She couldn't place the exact emotion, there was some bit of remorse, of pity, of sympathy, of admiration, of concern. She was more than confused about the whole matter but she knew that she really wanted to help him, somehow. After all, he was always going off on his own, never depending on anyone, never asking for help. He would even willingly take the blows just so that no one else got hurt.

"You deserve so much better than this," she thought as she watched him, "and though I can hardly say that I'm the right person to help you, I will do whatever I can."

She made a resolve then, to be a truer friend to him than she had ever been to anyone. Never had she felt so needed when he had, in fact, never even said he needed her. And never had she ever felt that she needed someone, that she needed him too. He had grown dearer to her than she could have ever imagined.

"You pulled me out of the darkness once," she thought silently, as she gazed at his tired figure, "so I'm going to return the favor."

The trial continued relentlessly, with debates arising here and there, contestations and protests filling the room every moment.

"As for the other claim leveled at me," the prince continued, "I am not a usurper. My father left the throne to Azula and I successfully defeated her in an Agni Kai. I have earned a right to the throne, and not just inherited it or been appointed to it by the Avatar."

"How can we consider that Agni Kai resolved when you did not finish the battle yourself?" argued a minister, "we have eyewitness accounts saying that you were not the one who finally defeated Princess Azula."

"My sister violated the rules first by aiming her lightning at someone else," Zuko explained, his gaze stern and unyielding, "so I took the blow from her. But she was already disqualified and as she is in no condition for a re-match, my claim remains legitimate."

Katara longed to mention that in taking the blow, Zuko had saved her life, and his actions had always deserved merit, but again she kept silent. He had turned to look at her longer than usual and so attracted the attention of the suspicious magistrates who turned to look at her as well. She glared at them defiantly, daring them to misrepresent her.

But when she turned to look at Zuko again, he had engaged the judges' attention with another round of arguments and rebuttals. Katara's head was beginning to hurt from listening to all this drivel and from worrying about Zuko. At length, however, she sensed that the hearing was coming to a close.

If he could have the patience to withstand such a tedious and frustrating spectacle, she thought, than all the more should it be feasible for her to endure it.

"The fact remains that you are your father's son," one of the ministers declared, choosing a different line of argumentation, "how are we to be assured that you will not follow in your father's footsteps and repeat his mistakes?"

"My lineage does not determine my destiny," Zuko answered, "and since you refuse to take my recent actions as proof of my convictions and my principles, I must beg your indulgence. I give you my word that I will not be the Fire Lord my father was. You will have to trust my word of honor for now, and see how I shall fulfill it."

This declaration was again met with hesitant whispers and mutterings from among the ministers.

"If, in the future," Zuko continued, "I fail to fulfill any of these promises, then I am more than willing to stand trial once more, to face the consequences, and to undergo the appropriate punishments."

More was still said after this but none of that really mattered. Zuko had settled the affair expertly, and after having exhausted their brains for any further contradiction, the ministers concluded the trial, acquitting Zuko of all crimes, and reluctantly accepting his claim to the throne.

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"That…was annoying," Katara told Zuko later that day, when the hullaballoo had finally calmed down.

Zuko smiled, seeing his frustration mirrored in her indignant expression. He need not waste energy on getting angry. Katara was angry enough for the both of them.

They decided to take a short stroll in the palace gardens, by the turtle-duck pond, so that both could blow off some steam.

"Aang won't be happy when he hears about this," Katara continued, still frustrated with the whole trial.

"It's over now, Katara, we don't have to burden him with even more responsibilities," Zuko replied with a small laugh, again amazing Katara with his ability to remain calm in spite of all that happened.

"You're right," she conceded, smiling at him, "but if Sokka or Toph had been here…"

"They would have stirred up more trouble than was necessary," Zuko completed her sentence, "I'm glad I managed to make you promise not to interfere."

"Yes, you know me well enough to know what I'm capable of in such situations," Katara answered, laughing softly.

"But thank you, Katara," Zuko told her, in a more somber tone, "not just for this, but for everything you've done for me."

"Of course," she replied, "though I should be thanking you as well."

They sat down by an ancient tree and enjoyed each other's company in silence. Their minds cleared and they were able to reflect upon the day's events with more objectivity.

"But Zuko," Katara said in concern, "after all that, are you all right?"

Zuko closed his eyes and sighed, showing a fraction of how exhausted he was. Katara gazed at him sympathetically but did not push him.

"I'm fine," he replied after a moment, "don't worry about me too much."

"I can't help it," Katara replied softly. Zuko gave her a grateful look.

They watched the sun set and pondered on the challenges that still lay ahead. There was a world that needed rebuilding and this was not a task to be accomplished overnight.

"Nobody said this was going to be easy," the future Fire Lord said pensively, "but I'm determined to see it through no matter what."

"But don't forget," Katara said, taking Zuko's hand in hers, "that you won't be alone."


End file.
